


Smoky Heart

by BurnLikeAFire



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: M/M, Master/Slave
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2018-03-29 20:52:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3910246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurnLikeAFire/pseuds/BurnLikeAFire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yunho is gifted a slave named Max and he has no idea what to do with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

They had become friends.

Yunho had been naïve, if that's any excuse at all. In hindsight, Yunho doesn't think it is.

But for whatever reason, the ludicrously rich man had taken an interest in him the moment he flashed his eyes upon Yunho, having walked into his small clinic with his personal, perfectly groomed slave in tow to get a rash looked at.

Yunho was far too trusting, always assuming the best in people, and had befriended the man who introduced himself as Jaejoong.

When he healed under Yunho's care was when Jaejoong began to take an even bigger interest in Yunho. Jaejoong invited Yunho over to his house quite often, but it was months before Yunho could accept his invitation, his work at his clinic keeping him far too busy.

Yunho dresses up to go to his absurdly large mansion, but it is the huge number of slaves he had around his mansion is what captures Yunho's attention, in either fascination or horror.

It isn't common to see slaves, especially with how expensive they are. Yunho has rarely even seen them before. Sometimes slaves come along with their masters to the clinic, the brand burned into the inside of their wrist visible as they help arrange their ill masters for Yunho to look at. Yunho would stare then, and the indicative cut of their robes and their downcast eyes and bowed heads. Yunho has heard stories, that slaves are trained not to feel emotions and that they rarely feel pain. That while they may look human, they are emotionally not.

So Yunho, as dressed up as he was to his own standards, feeling terribly out of place, sits in the extravagantly embroidered sofa with a dainty cup of tea served to him by a slave, and he's staring. Sitting across from him was Jaejoong, who had yet another slave sitting at his feet, massaging his calves.

"Just how many slaves do you have?" Yunho asks finally.

Jaejoong smiles. "Forty-two."

Yunho stares again as the slave runs his hand over Jaejoong's thigh. Yunho is distracted, in fact, that he misses Jaejoong speaking to him, prompting him to wave his hand in Yunho's face. Only then does he snap his attention back up at Jaejoong.

"Sorry, Jaejoong."

Jaejoong laughs. "You seem interested in my slave, Yunho, but I'm afraid this one is mine and only mine."

Yunho shakes his head, slightly offended. "I wasn't –"

"But if you're this interested, you should get yourself a slave."

Yunho hesitates. He knows he can't afford one. He could sell his entire house and he still wouldn't be able to afford one.

"Let me offer you this then," says Jaejoong with a smirk. "You can borrow one of mine for a bit, see if you like it. Maybe a couple of months. And if you do, you can buy it from me."

"I – Jaejoong, I could never afford a slave, no matter how much I like it," says Yunho, shaking his head.

"I'll lend you my cheapest then," says Jaejoong nonchalantly. "He was gifted to me, but I'm not too fond of him."

"Why not?"

Jaejoong hums. "He's not… _interesting_ ," he says.

Yunho isn't quite sure what he means, but he decides not to say anything as Jaejoong addresses the slave standing at the door.

"Bring me the new boy. Make sure he is bathed and clothed."

It takes a while. They finish their tea and are taking a walk in Jaejoong's gardens when the slave finally returns with another in tow.

The elegance with which the slave holds himself takes Yunho by surprise.

The boy is thin but tall, and his long eyelashes stand out as he casts his large, brown eyes downward. His brown, curly hair is still a bit wet, obviously been recently toweled dry. His wrists are bound, and the end of the rope is handed to Jaejoong.

"He's Max. Sixteen years old." Jaejoong jerks the rope abruptly, and the boy stumbles forward. "Obviously quite clumsy."

Yunho doesn't agree and thinks the boy is actually quite graceful, but Jaejoong is clearly unimpressed as he pulls a thin leather whip from his belt.

The boy doesn't react. He just looks away as Jaejoong begins to whip his bound forearms, over and over, for no reason at all.

"You can leave scars on this one if you please, he's pretty worthless," says Jaejoong. "Maybe keep his face clean though."

But every time Jaejoong brings the whip down over Max's forearms, Yunho sees a small flinch, and a slight wince. And the longer the whipping goes on, Yunho is sure that he can see a swirl of complexities in the boy's eyes and his jaw clenching tighter.

And Yunho can't watch any more red, angry welts appear on the boy's forearms.

"Jaejoong, stop."

To Yunho's surprise, Jaejoong does stop. "Your slave."

He then holds out the end of the rope to Yunho.

"Enjoy. He's yours for the next two months."

Yunho takes the rope hesitantly, looking up at the slave. The slave's face doesn't change though, and as Yunho pulls the slave closer, he just walks obediently to Yunho's side, but a step behind.

Yunho is feeling a bit faint and confused at the fact that he now has a slave, of all things, and is about to tell Jaejoong that he would like to leave when Jaejoong holds the whip out. Yunho stares.

Jaejoong smirks. "It comes with the slave."

Yunho sees Max close his eyes and hang his head as Yunho takes the whip from Jaejoong.

 

 

Yunho doesn't speak to Max at all the entire trip back to the clinic. They're both walking, and while Max does attract a bit of curiosity and attention, the walk is quite uneventful with the slave being ever so obedient.

It isn't long until they reach Yunho's clinic, but it's already dark. There are a couple patients waiting to see Yunho. Yunho lets the patients in, then brings Max into his bedroom off to the side. Max still isn't looking at him as Yunho finally unties his wrists. The ropes leave a red mark around his wrists, but Yunho isn't too concerned. Max is a slave after all.

"Stay here," orders Yunho after he finishes, not bothering to explaining anything.

But Max doesn't seem to need an explanation anyway as he bows.

Yunho closes the door behind him.

 

 

Changmin lets out the shaky breath he'd been holding as the door closes.

He should be happy, because it seems the gods have finally answered his nightly tearful prayers, and he has a new master, away from Jaejoong.

Nothing should scare him anymore after what he's been through at Jaejoong's household, but he's still scared and nervous. He doesn't know anything about his new master, doesn't know what he likes and what he expects, and so he's scared.

He swallows in an attempt to wet his dry mouth, but his tongue ends up sticking to the roof of his mouth and he has no choice but to let out a sigh.

He tries not to lose too much head, and looks around himself and get a better idea of what he's dealing with, rubbing his sore wrists and forearms.

Yunho's bedroom is certainly less extravagant than Jaejoong's – in fact, it reminds Changmin a bit of his own bedroom back in the Village, before he'd had to sell himself, save for the mess.

Changmin barely even thinks before he begins to clean.

 

 

When Yunho is finished seeing his patients and returned to his bedroom, Max is on his knees in the middle of the room. Yunho freezes at the entrance, partly because his room is spotless, and it hasn't been in months.

Yunho just stands there for so long that Max raises his head to look up at him.

"You touched my things," says Yunho coldly.

The slave visibly flusters, eyes moving irregularly and flushing red.

The slave bows his head. "I cleaned," he whispers. "Please forgive me, Master. I – I – "

It's the first time the slave has vocalized, the first time Yunho hears his voice, and before Yunho can even process the voice, Max speaks again.

"Please," whispers Max one more time, quiet desperately.

Yunho shakes his head.

"It's fine. Go to bed."

Max bows and Yunho turns towards his bed, away from the slave, to change out of his clothes. He's pulled his shirt off when he realizes that Max hasn't moved.

"What is it?" asks Yunho, getting a bit tired.

The slave speaks to the floor. "I'm yours tonight," says Max quietly. "I'm yours for as long as you'll have me."

"You _want_ this?" asks Yunho.

"I am not entitled to wants," whispers Max. "I have no wants except to please you. I exist to please you."

Max's voice is quietly demure but masculine, and Yunho can't help himself but bend down to kiss the slave full on the mouth.

The slave kisses back, even though Yunho can tell that it's learned, trained, and methodic. There's no passion, no fire.

Yunho pulls away just far enough to be able to be able to look into Max's eyes.

Yunho considers him, and then he stands himself up to his full height and steps away from the slave.

 _Not now_.

Fear begins to fill Max's eyes as he reaches forward to grab at the skirt of Yunho's robe, although he doesn't dare to touch his master's body without permission.

"M-Master, give me one more chance, please, Master –"

"No," says Yunho, and he pulls his robe out of Max's grip, a slight bit disappointed. "Get out of here."

Max bows before he leaves the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Yunho isn't quite asleep yet when he hears something that makes his eyes snap open.

It's the sound of the front door opening and closing.

And his heart drops, because if he loses his slave, and if he can't return Max to Jaejoong, he would be in such big trouble. He had heard stories of runaway slaves and how more than often, they were found dead – and a dead slave is the last thing that Yunho needs.

Yunho gets up and quickly gets dressed. It takes him a while because Max cleaned his room and he doesn't know where everything is, but he eventually manages to throw on his robe.

He opens the door to his bedroom and takes a quick look around, and while he realizes that he didn't tell Max exactly where to sleep, it would have been obvious that it wouldn't be _outside_. Max is nowhere to be seen though, and the front door is left slightly ajar, so Yunho steps outside too.

Yunho doesn't travel very far before he spots the boy, sitting against the wall of his shed with his knees tucked under his chin with his back to the rest of the house.

He's staring off into space, and Yunho watches the boy for a split second, slightly surprised that the boy had left the house, but not to run away.

Yunho slows to a walk, then to a stance as he watches the boy hug his knees, then begin to sing a song quietly, looking up at the dark sky – a song that Yunho recognizes as a song of homesickness and yearning.

The whole thing strikes him, because the entire thing is beautiful – the starry night, the soft voice, and the silhouette of a boy who is being so sincere in his song that Yunho can nearly see the boy's heart before his eyes.

The moonlight splashes onto the boy's face as he tilts his head up after finishing his song, and Yunho sees a tear slide down Max's cheek and his lips whisper, " _I miss you_."

Max wipes it quickly with his palm and it doesn't reappear, but the tear flusters Yunho a slight bit: slaves aren't supposed to cry.

But that very thought reminds Yunho once again – _slave_.

This is a slave who's just disobeyed a direct order to go to bed, and Yunho remembers that this is not acceptable, under any circumstances, and Yunho strides forward towards the boy, and his footsteps are finally heard by Max, who looks horrified.

The boy makes to stand, but before he can, Yunho hauls him to his feet by the front of his robe and pulls him towards the house. The boy stumbles all the way across the small yard and into the house, and Yunho deposits him none too gently onto the floor.

"I told you," growls Yunho. "I told you to go to bed. Are you deaf?"

The slave shuffles onto his knees and touches his forehead to the floor.

And in the candlelight, the slave's brown robe – one-shouldered as is required for a slave – is almost the same colour as the slave's skin, and Yunho has to swallow and detach himself emotionally before he can reach down to grab a fistful of the boy's curly hair and force his head up so that he is looking into Yunho's eyes.

" _Sorry_ ," Max bites out. "I'm sorry."

The slave's small show of attitude and defiance annoys Yunho, and so he tightens his grasp on the boy's hair until he grimaces.

"Does Jaejoong let you run free at night?"

The name elicits a response in Max, and he stops breathing, and his large, brown eyes fill with fear.

He takes several deep breaths before answering, his eyes pointed to the floor despite Yunho forcing up his head.

"N-No," he whimpers. "No, Master."

"So why the disrespect?"

"I didn't mean any. I just – I – I…" pleads Max. "I'm so, so sorry, I'm so…"

Yunho releases Max's hair and Max finally stops babbling. Yunho watches as the slave pushes his forehead to the floor again.

Yunho sighs and straightens up.

"Go to sleep," he says to the boy quietly.

The boy can't bow any lower, but Yunho is sure he would have if he could.


	3. Chapter 3

Yunho barely even sleeps that night, because he is so troubled about what to do with his unexpected gift. He really doesn't know the boy at all, so he wonders whether the right thing to do would be to keep him tied up always.

Yunho opens his eyes while it's still dark, still equally as tired as the night before.

He gets up, although more quickly than he normally would, because he almost immediately remembers why it was that he didn't get any sleep that night.

He gets dressed quickly and steps out, hoping that Max is still here.

And he is.

Max is sitting on the windowsill at the biggest window, watching the morning stars disappear. He's so focused that he doesn't even notice that Yunho has come out of his bedroom. It isn't until Yunho clears his throat that the boy startles, eyes wide, that he jumps off the windowsill.

"Master," whispers the boy hastily. He kneels immediately.

Yunho watches him for a moment before speaking.

"I thought I told you to sleep."

Max swallows and looks down at the floor. "I… I tried. I c... couldn't."

Yunho narrows his eyes.

"Is that why Jaejoong gave you to me? Because you don't listen to orders?"

Max positively whimpers.

Yunho bites his lip, because he literally had no idea what to do with Max.

So he decides to ignore him.

He makes his cup of tea and stuffs a small bun in his mouth like he always does before his first patients of the day arrive. Max is still kneeling in the living room area though, which patients will be waiting in soon, so Yunho decides he needs to put Max somewhere else.

He considers the bedroom, the kitchen, the bathroom… but he eventually figures the safest place is –

"Get in here," says Yunho to Changmin, opening the closet door. "And don't make a single sound."

The closet is dark and small, but it would only be for the day, until Yunho figures out what to do with him.

Max looks apprehensive for the shortest second, but then he obediently steps inside the closet as he is told. Yunho closes the door, ignoring Max's pleading eyes.

Yunho locks the door.

 

 

Changmin is repentant, if you can call it that. He's devastated to the point of tears, because he really wanted to impress this new master. He wanted him to like him, because he was always jealous of Jaejoong's favourite. It wasn't even that he gets to eat anything other than gruel once in a while, or that he gets to sleep on a soft bed.

Changmin was jealous that Jaejoong's favourite didn't have to spend days chained to the floor, and that he wasn't beaten every day for the sake of sick entertainment and pleasure.

He sits down slowly in the pitch-black darkness in the closet and curls up, comforting himself the best he can.

Over the years, he began to like darkness more than light.

Nothing was the same since he was a happy little boy in the light, but when darkness falls, when he can see nothing, he can't tell how different it is.

It isn't long until tears prick at his eyes, and he wipes at them furiously.

Changmin knows when he started crying so much.

He didn't cry for years. No matter how painful or humiliating, he never cried because he knew that his family would be proud of him and would be happy to see him with his head held up high despite everything. It wasn't until he got to Jaejoong's household, and it wasn't until he was raped and beaten until he could no longer walk, then chained by his neck to the floor for days that he cried. He cried, not because he was in too much pain, but because it was then that Changmin realized, no matter how much he loved his family or how much they loved him back, they couldn't possibly be proud of a son or a brother like him. It was when he realized that even if he ever saw his family that he missed so dearly again, he would never even be able to look them in the eye because of how ashamed he is.

So he closes his eyes and allows himself to cry, and promises himself that he'll be a good boy and listen to his master, if only not to feel ashamed when he meets his family in his dreams.

 

 

With him out of sight and silent, Yunho actually manages to forget about the slave as he goes about his day normally. His patients, as always, keep him busy and focused, and he barely has time for food. 

Just as he's stitching up a cut on who he expects is his last patient of the day, though, one of his best friends, Hojoon, invites himself in.

Yunho squints, hands full -- literally. He makes a stitch before looking up. "What."

"I hurt my wrist," he says, but not looking like he's in any pain.

"Go wait in the living room. I'll take a look after."

"I think a drink at the pub is going to cure it."

Yunho sighs. "Hojoon, not n-"

"I know. After."

Yunho thinks for one second about the slave in his closet, then looks up at Hojoon's expectant face.

"All right," says Yunho finally. "Give me a few moments to finish this."

The slave can wait just a couple more hours. 

 

 

What Yunho doesn't expect is for him and Hojoon to talk so long and drink so much that they pass out right there at the tavern. It isn't until the innkeeper wakes them for breakfast that Yunho realizes that it's morning and he's just waken up in a room at the inn.

"Oh," says Yunho stupidly, holding his aching forehead. He glares at Hojoon as he snorts.

The whole village knows Yunho, of course, being one of the few doctors in town, and in general, Yunho is met with a lot of generosity. Yunho's father hadn't forced patients to pay for his services, and neither does Yunho. His patients pay what they can. Most often it's in coins, but not too rarely he'll be brought food or firewood. And when he's at the market, the sellers would often slip in an extra handful of strawberries or another loaf of bread for him. And even now, Yunho can tell that his plate of breakfast is much bigger than Hojoon's.

"Eat up, Mr. Jung, I'm sure your day will be long," says the friendly innkeeper, and Yunho expresses his thanks before digging in.

He doesn't quite finish, though, because a man literally bursts through their door in the middle of the breakfast, panting, " _Please help my daughter_."

Yunho drops his spoon and runs out after the man out of the inn.

He'll let Hojoon take care of the bills.

 

 

Yunho spends the day and night with the man's young daughter, who is burning up and seems to be on the brink of death.

He does everything he possibly can to keep the girl alive and at dawn, her fever finally drops and she seems to be breathing easier.

She finally comes around in the morning, and that's when the family cries tears of joy and Yunho returns back to his home.

He is so exhausted that he puts up the sign that he won't be taking any patients unless it's an emergency, and collapses on his bed, and he sleeps without even changing out of his clothes.

 

 

It isn't until it's evening and the sun's setting that Yunho's eyes jerk open, his heart pounding.

" _Fuck_ ," he whispers. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

He jumps out of bed as quickly as his body would let him, stumbling over his own robes and feet. It's a short distance to his closet, but in that time, his head is overtaken by thoughts of his slave, who has been locked in the closet for three days now with no food or water.

He bangs open the closet door. Yunho has to let his eyes adjust to the darkness before seeing the unmoving figure curled up on the floor.

He crouches down immediately beside Max and taps his cheek urgently.

"Hey," says Yunho. "Hey, Hey."

The slave's eyes flutter open. They wander for a bit before focusing on Yunho's face.

"Are you all right?" asks Yunho.

Only one word leaves through Max's dry lips.

" _Sor... sorry._ "

Max's eyes close again, and feeling worse than he ever had in his life, Yunho scoops the slave up in his arms and carries him out of the closet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: suicide ideation

Yunho carries Max out of the closet to his own bed. He's more panicked than ever before. No patient he's ever treated has ever made him this nervous, because if he can't save Max, Yunho would be the only one responsible for killing this boy.

He carries the entire water bucket to the bedroom along with a glass of water. Max still has his eyes closed. Yunho fills the glass with water and dips a finger into the water and runs his wet finger over the slave's parched and cracked lips.

Max's eyes open almost instantly, and he lets Yunho support his head up so that he can hastily gulp down the glass of water that Yunho holds against his lips. Yunho tries to take the cup away from Max to fill the glass again, but Max reaches out to grab Yunho's wrist so that he can finish the last drop of water.

Yunho knows that it's instinctive, so he pries the cup away before filling it full for Max to drink again.

Max's thirsty gulping finally slows down after the fifth. Max still continues to drink everything that is held to his mouth, and it's only when a tear manages to form and roll down Max's eye after the tenth glass of water that Yunho lets out a breath of relief. He finally hands Max the glass and leaves the bedroom to quickly prepare some food for Max.

Yunho is a bit lost in the kitchen for a second with how panicked he's just been, but then he starts brewing some herbal tea and cuts up some of the fruit that he can see. He slices bread and some salted meat, puts everything on a plate.

Seeing Max at the door of his bedroom makes him hesitate, because the glass is rolling around on the floor, and Max is crying with his face buried into his hands.

Guilt overcomes Yunho, and he knows that this isn't something that he will easily forgive himself for. Max is Yunho's slave, and several years younger – but Yunho feels the compelling need to kneel beside the younger and offer his apologies.

But he doesn't, somehow, he can't. Instead, he just places the plate on Max's lap with a quiet, "Eat, then get some rest."

Yunho leaves the bedroom afterwards, unable to look at Max out of guilt and shame.

He doesn't return to the bedroom for hours, and when he does, thankfully, Max is sleeping.

Yunho only steps inside the bedroom to collect the empty glass and plate, and vows to the gods that he won't ever let this happen again.

He spends the night on the floor of his living room, realizing what Max must have meant when he said he tried to sleep but couldn't.

 

 

Yunho starts out the next day differently.

He's up by the time the sun rises, and he quietly checks up on Max to see how he's doing. He's still sleeping, and Yunho lets him be.

Max is probably still pretty weak and scared, so Yunho cooks the breakfast before going to the slave and waking him by placing a hand on his shoulder gently. Max's eyes flutter open.

"Come eat breakfast at the table with me?" asks Yunho, and Max finally turns his head to look at Yunho.

Max looks terrified, like he's expecting something to happen at the breakfast table, but he nods. Yunho stands and leaves the bedroom, Max following reluctantly behind.

He still doesn't know what to do with his slave, but they'll figure it out together.

 

 

It's awkward. They don't speak at all during the breakfast, and hungry as he must be, Max barely even touches the breakfast, presumably because he feels uncomfortable around Yunho. It isn't until Yunho excuses himself from the table for a bit that Max finally eats, finishing the food in the short time that it takes Yunho to remove the sign from the day before and open the doors.

It doesn't get better when the work day begins – Yunho gets questions from curious patients about Max, and it's quite the effort trying to shrug off the questions. Yunho is basically trying not to trip over Max at every turn, and Max is busy jumping out of Yunho's way as he goes about treating the patients. Yunho's been in such a constant rhythm for so many years that having someone else around to help just ends up slowing him down.

Two hours into them tripping over each other, Yunho finally thinks of a task for Max.

"Can you cook?"

The slave doesn't look confident, but he nods. Yunho figures that's good enough.

"Will you go make some lunch?"

Max nods and is turning towards the kitchen when the door opens, and a guest that Yunho hadn't been expecting walks in.

It's the _eliyen_ , an Elder of the village, visits Yunho's clinic in the afternoon to bless Yunho and his patients.

"Eliyen!" exclaims Yunho, and the eliyen smiles, his blank eyes wandering.

"Dear Yunho. How do you fare?"

He's blind and his hair white and wispy, but he is wiser than any other. He has counseled Yunho since he was a young boy, learning the herbs and procedures from his father. He doesn't visit often, only a couple of times a year, but to Yunho, who is usually too busy to go to the temples to pray or to pay a visit to the eliyen himself, the visit is a necessary one and he is an important guest.

Yunho heals. But so does the eliyen.

Yunho uses medicinal herbs while the elder uses spiritual oils and powders. Yunho heals the body, the eliyen heals the mind.

He knows that both are important.

And so when the blind eliyen arrives at the door, Yunho greets him enthusiastically, taking him by his hand and bringing him inside the clinic and taking his heavy bag from him.

Max looks a bit lost on his way to the kitchen, and Yunho glances at him and hands Max the bag for him to take.

"Max, lay out a rug for him in the next room," orders Yunho. "And set out a table for his things."

Max nods and disappears into the room while Yunho takes the eliyen around the house and clinic to be blessed. Yunho and the eliyen then enter the room together, where Max stands, looking unsure.

"Go back to the kitchen," says Yunho. Max hesitates and looks like he has something to say on his way out of the room. Yunho raises his eyebrows. Max sucks in a breath as if he were going to speak, but then lets it out and bows instead. He leaves the room silently.

Yunho sits the eliyen down in the room and Yunho kneels before him so that he can be blessed.

After the eliyen rubs the oils and powders over Yunho's palms with a prayer, Yunho finally sits comfortably, and they talk.

It's small talk, really – Yunho had a lot to say and often in tears of frustration when he was a young boy, learning under his father. He doesn't have the same type of pressure on him anymore, and so their talks revolve around the eliyen asking Yunho: "When will you marry, my child?"

Yunho has no idea.

The stay isn't long – it can't be, because Yunho has ill and hurt patients waiting, and the eliyen is aware of that. As they stand and make to leave the room, the eliyen smiles at Yunho, although his eyes are not directly focused on Yunho.

"The gods would be pleased with you, and your hard work to heal, Yunho."

Yunho feels a pang of guilt as he remembers Max, but he just mutters a quiet, "Thank you."

The eliyen reaches out for Yunho's face and pats his cheek, and Yunho feels a little bit worse.

But it's when he helps the eliyen to the door to leave that he feels a thousand time worse, as he hears a quite but desperate voice behind him.

"Eliyen."

The eliyen turns around, and so does Yunho.

Yunho sees Max who seems determined not to look at Yunho.

"Yes, who is it?" says the Eliyen, eyes still blank.

"Eliyen, please say a prayer for me to the gods tonight," whispers Max.

Max takes a step back mid-sentence. He catches Yunho's frozen expression and stops.

"Sorry," whispers Max. He takes another step back. He bows, then turns away quickly, as if to try to leave Yunho's sight before he can dish out a punishment. "Sorry."

 Max is already several step away when the eliyen squeezes Yunho's arm.

"Wait," says the eliyen. "Stop."

 Max stops dead in his tracks, and Yunho can see that he is shaking a bit as he turns around to bow to the elder who can't see it.

"Tell me your name, my child."

Max bows his head and doesn't answer the question for so long that the eliyen asks again. "What is your name?"

There is another long silence, and Yunho decides to have mercy on the boy and answer for him. "It's Max, eliyen."

"Is that your name? Max?" says the eliyen.

Changmin looks up again for a split second at Yunho, then at the eliyen, then at the floor.

And then to Yunho's shock, he answers, "No, eliyen."

Yunho doesn't know what to even say and is completely dumbstruck, but the eliyen speaks smoothly. "Then what is it, my dear boy?"

Changmin chews on his lip for a while before answering.

"Changmin, eliyen. Shim Changmin…"

 _Changmin_.

It's a name that Yunho has never heard before, and he just feels numb, and blank, and his mind screams, _then what is Max?_

The elder smiles. "How old are you, Changmin?"

"I'm sixteen."

"So young," he chuckles. "Are you Yunho's apprentice? I remember when he was one himself. He was always crying because his father was hard on him."

Yunho feels himself flush, not just because of the revelation, but because now the eliyen is sure to know that he owns a slave. He shouldn't be ashamed about that, but somehow, he finds that he is.

Changmin hesitates a bit, then answers. "No, eliyen. I'm his slave."

"Oh," he says. Maybe Yunho's imagining it, but the Elder sounds a bit sad. "I'm so sorry. I hope Yunho's kind to you."

Changmin doesn't answer for a very long time, then he speaks quietly. "He is, sir."

"Come here," says the eliyen, extending a hand.

Changmin walks up timidly and takes the eliyen's hand. He lets the eliyen run his hand down his hair. As he does, Max closes his eyes and bows his head.

"You're suffering, my child. I may not be able to see your face, but I sense a great sadness in you. Sadness that shouldn't belong in a sixteen-year-old boy."

The words of warm acknowledgement is what makes Changmin sob.

"I am," whispers Changmin. "Do I have to live my whole life like this? Eliyen, I can't – I can't –"

"Come closer," encourages the eliyen. He opens his arms wide, and Changmin falls right into his arms in a hug, and begins to sob into his shoulder. "Stay strong," says the eliyen.

"But I'm already tired," whispers Changmin. "I - I can't live like this, eliyen, please - please pray for me in other ways."

"How, my child?"

"Eliyen, I pray every night that the gods will end my suffering soon and take me to heaven. I wake up every morning and I'm disappointed – no, _devastated_ – that I'm still breathing. Eliyen, when will this _end_?"

A rock drops to the pit of Yunho's stomach.

" _Help me end it_."

 "Oh, my dear child," says the eliyen softly, running his hand down Changmin's hair. "I can't promise that it'll get better, but I will pray to the gods that you'll smile more than cry, and that you will not lose strength. I will not pray for your life to end, but I will pray for your suffering to end."

Changmin is sobbing so hard into the eliyen's shoulder that Yunho can't even watch, the boy's misery stabbing into his heart.

The eliyen helps wipe the tears from Changmin's face while Yunho stays turned away. Yunho catches the eliyen opening the small pots of oils right there at the doorstep and blessing the boy before he offers a short prayer to the gods and an encouraging word to Changmin.

When he finishes, the eliyen's sad eyes find Yunho's - and this time, they seem to be completely focused on Yunho.

He doesn't say anything for a very long time, then he speaks quietly. "I know that you are a good person, Yunho."

Yunho doesn't say anything and just stands there blankly as the eliyen walks away with the help of an assistant.

It's Changmin who moves first, rushing into the kitchen again.

 

 

Yunho and Changmin don't speak with each other for the whole day, and Yunho's heart is so heavy that he can hardly breathe.

They don't eat at the same table, and they don't even look at each other except for Yunho to give him short orders.

It is only at night that both of them have washed up and are ready for bed that Yunho finally works up the courage to make the decision, and to talk to the one that he has wronged.

"Max…" says Yunho.

The slave doesn't look at him in favor of keeping his gaze down at Yunho's feet. "Yes, master," he whispers.

Yunho hesitates before giving the news, because he wishes it wasn't true, and he's so sorry, and he wishes he had done better. But he can't, he can barely take are of himself, and he isn't ready to take care of someone else.

And so, he sighs and speaks quietly.

"I am going to take you back to Jaejoong tomorrow."

The look in Changmin's eyes as he looks up in shock at the news is so complex that Yunho can't even begin to interpret it.


	5. Chapter 5

Changmin bites his lip and tears his gaze away from Yunho in favour of looking down at the floor again. He feels himself steeling over again, as he had to for so many years. The last few days had been trying for him, and he had broken down in front of his new master. Cry as he might, he tried so hard not to show it – but in front of Yunho, it seemed that he was always crying. He had to stop, had to be strong, had to accept his fate. Crying would change nothing. Tears only bring more pain, and Changmin knows that better than anyone.

So Changmin swallows down the disappointment and the tears and the apologies and the questions, and properly masks himself – but it's hard. It's harder than it's ever been.

They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but Changmin is sure that's not true. He's weaker with every blow, and he feels himself breaking a little more each day. He knows that the pain will never go away, and that he will never heal completely. All he wonders now is just how broken a man can be before he dies.

He had hope, the way Yunho stopped Jaejoong from whipping him when the first met. Changmin had been eager to please him, and maybe it was his own fault that he couldn't please his new master. He'd made mistakes after all, and another one today as he spoke to the eliyen. But he hadn't been allowed to see one since he was sold, and he needed the prayers, the blessings.

Changmin clenches his teeth and tightens his jaw just to be sure that he's not crying when Yunho says quietly, "We should go to sleep."

Changmin bows and turns away from the bedroom door when Yunho stops him.

"Ch… Changmin?"

He notices right away.

 _Changmin_ , not Max.

The name that was given to him by his parents, not the one given to him by the slave traders.

"Yes, master," he whispers, his heart beating harder.

Healing just a bit. Breaking just a bit more.

"Sleep… in my bed with me tonight?"

Changmin looks up warily.

Changmin had offered himself up on the first night in the hopes that he could please Yunho. He's less inclined now that Yunho has already declared that he would no longer be Changmin's master after tonight, but Changmin has no choice but to nod and follow him into the bedroom.

This was what he was bought for and trained for after all.

Changmin just prays that Yunho isn't too rough with him.

 

 

Yunho notices that Changmin freezes up as soon as he hears Yunho's request to sleep in the same bed, but he lets Yunho lead him into the bedroom. Changmin makes to kneel in the middle of the room and Yunho reaches down and takes him by his hand before his knees can touch the floor.

"Don't do that," he says softly. "Get on the bed."

Changmin walks towards the bed, looking unsure. Yunho puts a hand on the boy's back to help reassure him, but as soon as his hand touches his back, Changmin jumps with a wince.

Yunho frowns. "Are you all right?"

Changmin just nods and gets on the bed as he'd been asked. He doesn't lie down though, just sits on the edge of the bed and waits for instructions.

Yunho knows what Changmin is thinking, and he has no intention of doing anything to Changmin that he's not comfortable with; all he had wanted was for Changmin to at least get a good night's sleep on a soft bed as an apology.

But the jump concerns him a bit, so Yunho frowns and moves towards Changmin.

Changmin looks down into his lap in submission as Yunho approaches him. He slowly reaches for the string that holds his robes together to untie it. Just before he does, he looks up at Changmin.

"May I?"

"Please don't ask."

The answer is forced, and Yunho isn't quite sure whether Changmin was trained to say this to a master who wants to take him, or if he's saying it because he doesn't want to give permission for something he doesn't want.

In any case, Yunho isn't planning on taking him, so he unties Changmin's robes and lets them fall from his shoulders.

For the first time, Yunho actually looks at the slave in proper light. He observes.

And as soon as he does, he hates himself for not doing it sooner.

He sees the scars littering his back and torso. There are older cuts, and ones that seem only a few days old. They're all scabbed over though, except one gash that looks like it's infected. There are also cuts on his neck suggesting that he's been collared, probably with something heavy. He sees that the wrists are still healing from the ropes that bound him, and he sees that his cheeks are sunken in and that his hip bones and vertebrae are jutting out. The robe is covering most of Changmin's legs, but there are scars around Changmin's ankles too. Yunho isn't sure he even wants to know what is under the robes.

"You've been abused," whispers Yunho.

Changmin doesn't answer, but perhaps Yunho shouldn't have expected one since it wasn't a question.

And he realizes that what Changmin had said to the eliyen today didn't have to do with just Yunho.

It doesn't make Yunho feel any better, but it does change things a bit.

"How long have you had this?" asks Yunho, poking at the particularly nasty looking cut. Changmin jumps a bit again, but manages not to make any sounds.

"Not sure," whispers Changmin. "Not sure how long that one's been there. I've had my back torn up every few days for a while so I don't know which session that's from."

Yunho sighs. "Oh, Changmin," he whispers, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Changmin doesn't answer again, and Yunho really can't blame him. Yunho has been nothing but cold towards the slave until he decided to neglect him for nearly three days; of course he didn't tell Yunho.

Yunho runs an apologetic hand over Changmin's shoulder, then gets up from the bed.

"Lay down on your stomach," instructs Yunho.

He makes sure that Changmin is doing as he's told before leaving the room for everything he needs to help him heal.

 

 

Changmin visibly panics when he sees Yunho's scalpel, so Yunho assumes that someone's taken a knife to him before, and probably not to help him heal. His eyes are wide, pupils blown, and he's breathing hard with his teeth clenched in apprehension, and Yunho puts away his scalpel.

"I won't do it if you don't want me to," says Yunho quickly. "You don't want me to do it?"

Changmin is silent, and his lip quivers a bit as he next speaks. "You don't have to ask," whispers Changmin, his voice shaking. "I-I exist to please you."

"And I'm here to heal," says Yunho, putting a reassuring hand on Changmin's shoulder. He flinches, and Yunho can't say he can quite blame the slave, since he was part of the neglect and abuse. "I just – thought it would be best if I cut away what's infected and stitch it back up."

Changmin still looks apprehensive, so Yunho continues.

"But we can see if I get around it with just the herbs if you don't feel up to it. Lay back down."

Changmin does, but he looks at Yunho with those big, round eyes.

"You're… going to…help?"

Yunho nods. "Yes, of course, Changmin, I'm a physician."

"I thought you – I thought you were going to –" whispers Changmin into the pillow. He trails off, and Yunho feels a pang of guilt.

"Going to what?"

Changmin stays silent for a few moments before evidently deciding on the right words. "Punish me for talking with the eliyen."

Yunho doesn't know what to say, so he busies himself with the rag and the small bucket of water that he's going to use to clean Changmin's cut. They are silent before Changmin breaks it timidly.

"Isn't that why you're sending me back to Jaejoong?" whispers Changmin as Yunho wrings the rag into the bucket. "Because I –"

"This is going to sting," warns Yunho, cutting Changmin off, then he begins to clean the cut. Changmin stops talking and lets out a short gasp of pain. "Sorry," says Yunho apologetically.

Changmin doesn't say anything, just grunts his way through the pain as Yunho tries to clean the cut as best as he can, realizing that Changmin won't let him cut anything away.

It's always hard, no matter how used to this Yunho is, or how good his intentions are. It's hard to have someone cry in pain because of something you're doing, even if he's doing this to help. It's hard to block out the jerks and the squirms, and the small whimpers that escape through the lips. So Yunho makes it as fast as he can, and when he's finished, Changmin finally breathes normally, and he gives Changmin a reassuring squeeze of his hand. "Almost done."

It's smooth sailing from there, just crushing and mixing the herbs until they're a paste and wrapping him in bandages.

"Try to sleep on your stomach tonight," says Yunho.

Changmin whispers a word of assent. Yunho washes his hands, then he gets into bed next to Changmin.

He blows out the candle, and he looks to his side, where Changmin is.

"Good night," Yunho whispers.

He doesn't get an answer back.


	6. Chapter 6

Yunho isn't used to sharing a bed, so he's hyper-aware of everything that Changmin is doing. He notices Changmin's breaths and how they're irregular, like he's holding back tears, his squirms like he's not quite comfortable, how he tightens his grip on the blanket. Changmin falls asleep before Yunho does, his breaths finally evening out and eventually turning onto his back in his sleep. As he does so, his arm brushes against Yunho's skin, and Yunho feels a tingling that stays for a long time after they're not touching anymore.

Yunho reaches over to the window and opens the curtain so that the moonlight splashes onto Changmin's hair and his face and his shoulders. He watches his slave's chest rise and fall and takes note of how long his eyelashes are and how they curve up just a bit; how he's clenching his jaw even as he sleeps, and as he watches, a tear rolls out of Changmin's closed eye and falls.

Yunho reaches out with his hand carefully to wipe the tear for him, and he finds himself whispering, _I hope you find your happiness._

 

 

Changmin never sleeps well anymore.

Today is no exception, waking several times in the night from nightmares; but he also remembers one nice dream, where Yunho held him and whispered to him that he hoped Changmin would be happy.

But dreams are dreams, and the reality when Changmin wakes in the morning, his master is already dressed to go outside to take Changmin back to the hell that is Jaejoong's mansion.

Changmin sits up, biting his lip and resenting the gods for making him live through another day.

"I'm sorry," whispers Changmin, hoping he won't be punished for sleeping in for longer than his master.

"Let's go," says Yunho, not unkindly.

Changmin hangs his head, but forces himself to get up.

 

 

Changmin is walking in silence just a step behind Yunho.

For what he thinks is the first time he'd been sold, he's walking outside without his hands tied.

Perhaps he should be thankful, but knowing where they're headed and what will happen to him by the end of the walk.

It isn't a particularly short distance, but to Changmin, who wishes that the walk would never end, they reach Jaejoong's mansion much too quickly.

His stomach curls in on itself as they approach the house.

But then he thinks, perhaps the gods are listening to his prayers after all; perhaps this is the way they chose to end his life -- through Jaejoong's hands.

Changmin takes a deep breath and wills himself to be strong.

He hopes the gods are not too cruel in his last moments.

 

 

The servant brings Yunho and Changmin onto the property, asking him to wait near the gates promising that he would be back with more instructions from Jaejoong.

It's Jaejoong who comes out, still in a bathrobe. It's silk and embroidered in gold thread, and Yunho nearly loses the courage in front of the insanely rich man. He remembers Changmin's mangled back, though, and stands his ground, glaring at Jaejoong.

"Wasn't expecting you so soon," drawls Jaejoong, sharp eyes on Yunho. They then turn their gaze to Changmin, who avoids his gaze and looks down at his feet.

Yunho swallows. "Yes, Jaejoong, I wanted to talk to you about the slave."

Jaejoong's eyes flicker at Changmin for a moment, but then turn back to Yunho. "Not pleased?"

Yunho sighs. "No, I'm not. I took his clothes off yesterday, and -"

"The slave wasn't able to please you in bed, then?" chuckles Jaejoong, cutting Yunho off. He walks towards Changmin slowly, until they are less than a foot away from each other. Changmin looks down, determined not to look at his former master, while Jaejoong stares him down with a cluck of his tongue. "What a shame. I know he's not particularly talented, but he's a pretty one, really."

Yunho is struck speechless and he stares, holding back the urge to tear Jaejoong away from Changmin. 

Jaejoong runs his fingers lightly along Changmin's clenched jaw, and while Jaejoong misses it, Yunho doesn't miss Changmin drawing his head back just a bit, away from Jaejoong's touch. "So pretty, in fact, that when I got him, I want so much to hurt him and see him cry."

He smiles a disgusting smile, and Yunho has to look away. "It took a lot to finally see those tears, actually. Whipping barely did anything. Had to fuck him raw and starve him for days."

Jaejoong finally takes his hand away from Changmin's face, which is a burning red -- too late does Yunho realize that it's only to lift it and bring it down, hard, on Changmin's cheek. He's not using his full strength, but the slap is hard enough to turn Changmin's head to the side. The slave winces, but he rights himself.

"I have slaves who would burst into tears with just that, but look at him," sighs Jaejoong. "Defiant little thing. But perhaps a bit too much so. He makes you lose interest. There's no give with this one."

"Jaejoong, he's not a toy," says Yunho finally. He reaches beside him to grab Changmin's arm and pull him behind himself, shielding him from Jaejoong.

Jaejoong looks at him incredulously. "Don't tell me you never took him to bed."

Then, to Yunho's horror, Jaejoong walks towards Changmin and rips off Changmin's clothes with one motion, and Changmin stands naked in front of both of them, trembling and looking only at his feet.

"Jaejoong!" shouts Yunho, snatching Changmin's robe from Jaejoong's grip. He wraps the fabric around Changmin's shoulders so that at least Changmin has some coverage quickly. Changmin hangs on to the fabric in his small hands, and Yunho grabs Changmin's wrist protectively.

"You can't do that!" explodes Yunho. "I saw the scars you put on him, it's despicable! _How can you do that to someone_?"

Jaejoong raises his eyebrows, then he crosses his arms. His icy eyes are on Yunho now. "Don't tell me you came to lecture at me about how to treat my slaves."

Yunho hesitates. He didn't; he had really been meaning to have a discussion with Jaejoong about who would be able to take better care of Changmin, but Yunho is sure now.

 "He's not yours," says Yunho bravely. "He's mine."

"Oh?" says Jaejoong, looking amused. "You'll pay for him?"

Yunho clenches his teeth.

"You are welcome to keep him for the two months, of course," says Jaejoong. He smirks. "And like I said, you can buy him from me after that if you so want." He takes a step closer towards Yunho, and Yunho takes one back, taking Changmin with him. "But remember, Yunho, that I am the one with Max's ownership papers and when he is returned to me, I will use him however I like."

Yunho feels himself fill with anger and disgust, an emotion that he hasn't felt in a very, very long time.

He tightens his grip on Changmin's wrist, and then without even saying goodbye to Jaejoong, he pulls Changmin closer towards him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and whispers, "Let's go."

The two of them turn and quicken their steps to leave the gates, when Jaejoong speaks again.

"Two thousand gold pieces, Jung," calls Jaejoong from behind him. Yunho nearly stops dead in his tracks at the outrageous price, even for a slave, but he doesn't look back as he rushes out of there.

 

 

Yunho walks quickly until he can no longer see Jaejoong's mansion. Even afterwards, he doesn't slow down, trying to catch his breaths and to dispel his mind of the anger and disgust, when Changmin's wrist slips out of his hand. He walks on for a little bit before he finally realizes that Changmin isn't following.

He turns around to see that Changmin has lost strength in his legs and has stopped in the middle of the street and crouched down, still clutching the robe around himself. Yunho backtracks, feeling some of the anger melt away to be replaced with worry.

"What's wrong?" says Yunho with a frown. As he gets closer though, he realizes that Changmin is sweating so hard that his hair is drenched, and he's shaking. Yunho lowers his voice. "Hey, you okay?"

Changmin swallows and nods, but he seems so far from okay. Yunho runs his hand over Changmin's head. "Let's get you at least to the side of the road. I don't want you to be run over by a cart."

Changmin doesn't seem like he can walk on his own, though, so Yunho carries him to the side of the road and sits him down on the grass. Changmin whimpers when Yunho puts him down, and Yunho squeezes his hand. "It's okay. Here."

He helps Changmin get properly dressed again, making sure that there's no one around the road before fastening the strings for him, since Changmin's hands are shaking too hard to do it on his own.

Yunho is lost, since he really doesn't know how to deal with things like this. Adept as he might be at healing the body, he doesn't know how to deal with the mind, and so he just sits next to the slave silently. It takes a long time, but eventually, his breaths are regular again and he stops shaking.

It's Changmin who speaks first, "Sorry."

Yunho feels terrible, because Changmin hasn't done anything wrong, and it's Yunho who should be apologizing for taking Changmin to Jaejoong's and having him go through what he did today -- but Yunho will make sure that he never will again.

Ever.

 

 

When they make it back to the clinic, Yunho is dizzy too, having been met with such horrifying news during the day -- he feels betrayed with the fact that Jaejoong had been so cruel to Changmin, and it seems like an impossible task to take Changmin out of the situation.

As much as he wishes he could just lay in bed all day to sleep away the growing headache, there are patients already waiting outside the door as they reach Yunho's house. So Yunho brings everyone in and he prepares the breakfast, really just making sure that the eggs are cooked through and everything is edible before setting out two plates of food for himself and Changmin. The first patients are waiting, so Yunho rushes through the breakfast and excuses himself from the table before Changmin is finished with his food. He asks Changmin to clean up after he finishes, to which Changmin agrees.

Yunho doesn't give Changmin any other particular instruction before he begins work for the day. He's admittedly distracted, trying to think of what he has to do to come up with two thousand pieces of gold for Changmin.

It's nearly impossible.

Yunho thinks about how he could possibly come up with two thousands pieces of gold in two months. Deep down, Yunho knows it's impossible. Even if he sold every single one of his possessions, including his clinic, he couldn't do it. Even if he made every patient pay him for seeing him, he couldn't do it.

He is sighing with every breath through the day and is cleaning up a room after a patient leaves when there is a soft knock at the door. Yunho looks up.

"Yes?"

The door opens timidly and it's Changmin who stands at the doorway.

Yunho sits up. "What is it?"

Changmin lifts the tray he's holding a tiny bit.

"I made you some tea," he whispers shyly.

He kneels next to where Yunho is sitting and pours the tea.

There is something akin to hero worship in Changmin's deer-like eyes as he finally looks up at Yunho and holds out the cup for him to take, and Yunho's heart breaks, because he doesn't know what he has to do to save this poor boy from his nightmare.


	7. Chapter 7

Changmin's hands shake a little as he holds out the cup for Yunho to take, and he just hopes that his master doesn't kick it out of his hand.

When he lifts his head and looks up at Yunho though, he realizes that he doesn't have to worry, because Yunho doesn't look angry. In fact, he looks… sad. He looks sad, but he still smiles.

"Thank you," says Yunho kindly as he takes the cup from Changmin.

Changmin doesn't return the smile, because he can't see a reason to – but he does bow.

 

 

What kills Yunho is that Changmin is opening up to him more, and Yunho can see it. There is a definite element of trust now as Changmin goes about each day, and it doesn't help Yunho feel any less guilty about what is happening. Changmin definitely doesn't step over his boundaries as a slave, but he also isn't apprehensive when he deals with Yunho.

Although Yunho still hasn't seen him smile, it's probably too much to ask from a boy who was so severely abused. But at least now, Changmin doesn't flinch anymore when Yunho touches him, and he doesn't look wary when Yunho invites him into bed with him. Unlike the first night, when Changmin was keeping as much distance from Yunho as he could on the small-ish bed, now the light brush of skin against Yunho doesn't seem to bother him much, if at all.

And now that Changmin is opening up the smallest bit, Yunho sees more of Changmin's personality.

Changmin is shy. Terribly shy.

Changmin never speaks unless spoken to first, and keeps as much distance from Yunho after the day when he made Yunho tea. Perhaps it's Yunho's fault for being so cold to him and then almost killing the kid, or perhaps the submissiveness has been pounded into him during training -- but Yunho suspects that Changmin hadn't been the most outgoing person even before that. Changmin doesn't speak to him much, and that makes Yunho realize how much courage Changmin worked up even on the day he brought Yunho tea. Yunho can almost picture Changmin standing outside the room for a long time with the tea tray in his hand, debating whether or not he should serve the tea without being asked, and Yunho thinks that must be why the tea was actually lukewarm by the time it reached Yunho.

Yunho still doesn't exactly require gold from his patients for his services, but for the first time, he outright asks for it and tries to see as many patients as he can, constantly overworking himself. Asking for money feels strange and wrong, and he thinks that if his father knew, he would be very disappointed in him.

On the other hand, he likes to think that his father would be proud of him for trying to save a boy from a lifetime of sexual and physical abuse. But deep down, he knows that it will never work – two months simply isn't enough time for him to come up with the amount of gold that Jaejoong called. But at least it's a start.

Changmin is quite diligent in getting housework done, and Yunho found that he did appreciate Changmin picking up after him. At first it had been foreign and uncomfortable, but with Changmin being around, the dishes got done on time, Yunho always had clean clothes to wear, and the house was kept clean. Yunho thinks that his father would have been happy to see the place finally in order and clean, and he has to thank Changmin for that.

It isn't for an entire week that Changmin finally is the one to talk to Yunho first, and it isn't in the circumstances that Yunho had expected it, exactly.

It's the same day that Changmin smiles for the first time with Yunho too. It had rained all day unexpectedly, and Changmin had been busy moving the stores of grain from Yunho's shack so that it wouldn't go bad. He'd come back in, just wet enough to make him look like a fluffy puppy as he shook the water out of his hair. The sight was so cute that it made Yunho laugh. Changmin had looked at Yunho in the eyes, and seeing the first genuine laugh that anyone had ever given him since he'd become a slave, Changmin had smiled back, quickly ducking his head to hide his reddening face.

And so Yunho is actually _happy_ , and now sitting at the table and eating quietly together, the smattering of raindrops are almost calming, at least until there is a soft knock at the door.

They both look up and meet each other's eyes, because Yunho's patients know not to knock. It could be a passerby who was caught in the rain, but the knock isn't urgent like they might both expect. Yunho puts down his cutlery and gets up from his chair. Changmin makes to stand too, but Yunho shakes his head. "Keep eating. I'll be right back."

Yunho crosses the living room a bit apprehensively until he's at the door. He hesitates the slightest bit, but then realizing that whoever is at the door is waiting in the rain, he opens the door rather quickly.

Yunho doesn't recognize the face standing at the door.

He is a tall, lanky boy and he looks about sixteen or seventeen. He's carrying a bag over his shoulder and looks like he's been traveling, but it's even more obvious that this young man isn't from this region because the cut of his clothes is different from what Yunho knows. He is completely drenched from head to toe, and as he locks eyes with Yunho for a split second before bowing slightly, a couple of raindrops splatter onto Yunho's feet.

Yunho frowns. "May I help you?" he asks.

"Um… yes," says the boy. He swallows. "Would… Would you be Mr. Jung?"

"Yes," says Yunho, suspicion growing.

"Changmin…" says the boy.

Yunho freezes, and then thinks he mishears.

"W-What?"

"I mean, I'm sorry, I've been looking for a slave who I think is here, his name is –"

And then Yunho hears shattering glass behind him.

 

 

Changmin doesn't think there has been a single day since he left home that he hasn't thought about Kyuhyun.

Kyuhyun even frequents Changmin's dreams, whether they be good dreams or nightmares. Some days Changmin misses Kyuhyun and wishes he were there beside him, and some days he hates Kyuhyun so much that he wishes that Kyuhyun had never been born.

So seeing Kyuhyun in flesh in front of him, Changmin doesn't even realize that the glass that he'd been holding slides out of his hand.

It all feels surreal, and even though Kyuhyun grew up in the time that Changmin hasn't seen him, there's no mistaking.

Changmin doesn't know whether to laugh or cry, whether to be proud of ashamed, whether to run up and hug him or get on his knees.

And so he just stands, frozen, just watching him, until Kyuhyun pushes past Changmin's master and holds his old friend in the tightest embrace, the rainwater wetting Changmin.

"I've been looking for you everywhere," whispers Kyuhyun, sounding like he's about to start crying. "I thought you were dead, gods, Min, I thought I'd never see you again --"

Changmin doesn't know whether he's allowed to, as a slave, hug Kyuhyun back. But when the tears start welling up in his own eyes, and he remembers the old times and the hard times all at once, he raises up his arms and wraps them around Kyuhyun's waist.

And then Changmin cries and cries and cries.

 

 

The whole exchange is a bit shocking to Yunho, and he doesn't know what to make of this, at all. It had never even occurred to him that Changmin might have friends or family who treasure him. It had never occurred to him that Changmin might be loved.

And as the boys hug and cry into each other's shoulders, Yunho is burning with questions. As soon as they part, sniffling and eyes reddened, he leads them both to the fireplace. He offers the visitor some dry clothes before he looks at both of them in turn with his dark, hard eyes, and demands:

"Explain."


	8. Chapter 8

"There's nothing to explain," says Changmin quietly. "Kyuhyun and I… were friends."

Yunho presses harder. "Tell me everything. Is he a former master? A freed slave from another household?"

Kyuhyun looks at Changmin, but Changmin just curls his knees into his chest and says nothing. Eventually, Kyuhyun answers for him instead.

"No. I'm his friend from… from before. When he wasn't a slave."

Yunho's head jerks up in shock.

"What?"

Kyuhyun gives Changmin a look, and Changmin doesn't respond. Kyuhyun sighs and looks up at Yunho. "I guess he hasn't told you, but he wasn't born into slavery. He has a family who loves him."

Yunho's head is spinning; this is too much to take in.

"Changmin, you explain –"

But Changmin shakes his head.

"There's nothing to say," repeats Changmin quietly. "None of it matters. Nothing is going to change."

Changmin looks up at Kyuhyun, and only then does Yunho notice the difference between the two boys – Changmin's eyes were devoid of any trace of light or sparkle. They were deep and dark, and emotionless.

"And you should leave," says Changmin to Kyuhyun.

"Changmin."

"I don't know why you came, but I'm not the same person you used to know. _We're not friends_. And you're imposing yourself upon my master."

Changmin looks away, and Kyuhyun looks properly hurt before turning his eyes to Yunho. He stands. "I… I'm sorry. I'll find an inn for the night and I'll be back again tomorrow, when it's light, and –"

"Don't come back," says Changmin, cutting him off.

Kyuhyun looks like he's too shocked to say anything.

When Changmin next raises his head, Yunho realizes that Changmin's eyes are filled with tears again. "Seeing you just _hurts_. So please, just leave, and don't come back."

Kyuhyun swallows with his teeth clenched. He takes another look at Yunho and bows.

"I'm sorry," he says quietly, looking also like he might burst into tears with the slightest touch. "I… Thank you for your hospitality."

"You can stay the night if you like," clarifies Yunho, "or at least wait until the rain eases up."

"No, I think –" Kyuhyun glances at Changmin, then walks to the door – "I think I'd better go. I'm… Oh…"

Kyuhyun digs through his pockets and fishes out a few gold coins and hands them to Yunho.

"Please… Please take good care of Changmin."

"No. You don't have to –"

But before Yunho can do anything, Kyuhyun opens the door and runs out of the house. Yunho watched Kyuhyun's figure disappear into the rain, then sighs and closes the door.

He turns back to the fireplace to check up on Changmin, but Changmin is gone already.

 

 

Yunho and Changmin spend the rest of their evening in silence, and don't talk about their encounter with the visitor. Yunho finishes his supper while Changmin sweeps up the shattered glass on the floor. Changmin busies himself with the cleaning and the dishes after that. Yunho lets him, but when he sees Changmin makes to carry a load of dirty laundry outside to wash on his way to bed, Yunho stops him.

"That can wait until tomorrow, after the rain has stopped. You won't even have a place to hang it to dry in this weather."

Changmin avoids Yunho's eyes, whispers a quiet, "Yes, master," and carries the laundry to the back again.

"Sleep on the bed with me tonight after you've finished your work."

Yunho gets another small, "Yes, master," in response.

Yunho knows Changmin is just trying to keep himself busy because he doesn't want to deal with what has just happened, or talk to Yunho about any of it.

Yunho lets him be and goes to bed. He lies down, but can't sleep.

Changmin comes to bed for hours later, apparently having run out of work to do. Changmin tiptoes to the bed, clearly thinking that Yunho is sleeping, and slides into bed quietly beside Yunho. Soon, though, it's clear that both of them are just lying in bed blankly awake, listening to the raindrops splatter onto the window.

Eventually, Yunho breaks the silence.

"Changmin."

"Yes, master," Changmin whispers.

Yunho doesn't look at him.

"Tell me how you became a slave."

Changmin lets out a breath.

Yunho gives him time and waits. He waits and waits and waits.

Eventually, Changmin speaks.

"It was all because of money. Because we didn't have enough money."

Yunho had guessed that much. At first, it doesn't seem like Changmin is going to elaborate, but a little while later, Changmin speaks again. 

"My father had been in debt when he died," says Changmin quietly. "Before he died, things weren't... They weren't great. My family had been living in a small house that was loaned to us by Kyuhyun's family. When my father died, the debt collectors came, and when they realized that my father had died, they threatened to sell my sisters to the brothels.

"I thought they were just saying that to scare us, but then one day, they just barged into the house, and tried to take my youngest sister. If it weren't for Kyuhyun's family stepping in after they heard our cries, they probably would have taken her."

Changmin swallows.

"I realized that we couldn't go on living like that," says Changmin. "And since... since I was oldest, and I was the head of the household now that my father had died, I thought I had to do something. And so... And so I asked Kyuhyun to help... help..."

Changmin doesn't finish the story, but Yunho understands.

Changmin had asked Kyuhyun to sell him to the slave traders.

"And so you ended up at Jaejoong's household afterwards?"

Changmin nods. "I had a few different masters over the next four years, but eventually, yes."

Yunho sighs and closes his eyes. "Gods. And so you... you sold yourself... knowing... that you would go through all of this..."

Changmin hangs his head, and Yunho wonders how such a huge amount of courage came from such a young boy.

"You must miss your family very much," says Yunho.

Changmin doesn't answer for a long time. But eventually, he whispers, "Yes."

"They must miss you very much too."

The silence is so long that Yunho is convinced that Changmin must be asleep before he gets a response.

"If they knew what I've become, they wouldn't miss me."

 "What… What do you mean?" asks Yunho.

"The things I've seen, the things that have been done to me…" says Changmin quietly. "I'm not the son that they know. I've changed. I'm... I'm just… so… _disgusting_ , I could never let any of them touch me."

"Changmin…"

"I actually… don't even want _you_ to touch me because I don't want to dirty you."

Yunho realizes for the first time what it means for your heart to break.


	9. Chapter 9

It's stopped raining the next morning, and clear blue skies and a fresh lungful of moist air greets Yunho when he opens the door. Changmin's already cooked breakfast and left it on the table for Yunho to eat, but he's nowhere to be found. Yunho is glancing around his house and notices that the basket of dirty laundry is missing too, so he figures that Changmin went to the streamside to do the laundry.

Before the first patient of the day arrives though, Kyuhyun pokes his head through the door with a shy knock.

"…Sir?"

Yunho looks up.

"I'm sorry," says Yunho from where he is. "It seems like Changmin went to the streamside to do the laundry."

"Oh," says Kyuhyun. He shuffles inside anyway. "Um… last night, I was too flustered, I didn't really get to say anything I actually wanted to say. Um –"

He kind of looks around as if he wants to talk to Yunho, so Yunho nods.

"Okay. Come in."

Kyuhyun thanks Yunho profusely before stepping inside, his head bowed a bit, too. He seems to want to please Yunho a lot, the same way Changmin's been, and it's making Yunho a bit uncomfortable. Yunho leads him into one of the side rooms that he normally sees his patients in.

"Have a seat," says Yunho, indicating one of the cushions, and Yunho sits on the floor as well. Kyuhyun kneels.

"First of all, I'm – Thank you for your hospitality," says Kyuhyun.

"I didn't do anything for you," says Yunho.

"Yes, um… well, I'm sure you were able to guess why I'm here," says Kyuhyun quietly.

Yunho can guess. "You want to bring Changmin home."

"Yes," says Kyuhyun, biting his lip. He looks up. "I will buy him from you, or help you purchase another slave to take his place."

Yunho looks up sharply. Perhaps Kyuhyun will be able to help purchase Changmin.

"How much can you offer?"

"The village has together saved up one thousand gold pieces over the past six years to bring him back," says Kyuhyun to the floor. "We did not want to approach you without appropriate funds."

Yunho swallows.

That still isn't enough for what Jaejoong had called. Yunho had saved up twenty-odd gold pieces in the past month or so, but that certainly isn't going to be enough to make up the difference.

"I need one thousand more," whispers Yunho.

Kyuhyun looks up, his face reflecting the shock he must be feeling. "S…Sir?"

Yunho doesn't have the heart to meet Kyuhyun's gaze, because if he hadn't angered Jaejoong, he probably wouldn't have called such a high price.

"I'm sorry. I do not have his papers. He is only loaned to me."

Kyuhyun looks confused.

"If I am to buy Changmin from his proper owner, I need two thousand gold pieces. That is the price that he called."

"Who is it that I need to approach, then?" says Kyuhyun, looking a bit frustrated. "Who owns him?"

"Lord Jaejoong. He lives in the castle near –"

"I know where that is," grunts Kyuhyun. "I had to visit the place when I had to trace Changmin's steps."

Yunho looks up. "Did he mention a different price to you, by any chance? If so –"

"No," says Kyuhyun quietly. "I didn't get to see him. His guards told me where I can find Changmin, and so I came here."

Yunho clenches his teeth and looked up at the ceiling in exasperation.

One thousand gold pieces would be more than enough to buy the most expensive top tier slaves – and Yunho knows that Changmin isn't there. Changmin is newly trained, barely submissive enough to be called a slave, and as Jaejoong said, he is one of the cheaper slaves.

And that is when Yunho realizes with a shudder of sheer, utter disgust that it isn't Changmin that Jaejoong wants.

He wants Yunho.

Jaejoong no doubt knew that Yunho wouldn't allow Changmin to go back to Jaejoong, and that he would do everything in his power to buy Changmin back – even selling himself.

Yunho would no doubt be a high sell, with his skills at medicine – he would still not sell for even close to the two thousand gold pieces from traders or even private buyers – but Jaejoong would likely trade Changmin for the two thousand gold pieces.

Yunho almost feels vomit come up as he realizes that he is appraising his own worth in gold.

Yunho closes his eyes to try to steady himself.

Unfortunately, he pictures Jaejoong's face when he does, and he actually throws up.


	10. Chapter 10

Yunho lets Kyuhyun wait in his clinic for Changmin, but Changmin doesn't come back, even when it's lunchtime. Yunho guesses that Changmin's not going to come back anytime soon if it means that he has to face Kyuhyun.

When the sun starts to set and the last of Yunho's patients leave, Yunho begins to worry for Changmin. Not that Changmin would have gone somewhere he isn't supposed to, but that someone might do something to him. And so, he approaches Kyuhyun, who's sitting in a cushion, staring mindlessly into the fireplace.

"I'm sorry, it seems like you're going to have to leave."

Kyuhyun startles and jumps to his feet. "Yes. Of course."

He picks up his bag from the floor and hesitates. "Um… sir."

"Yes," replies Yunho.

"I… wanted to bring Changmin home, but I understand that that's not possible right now. Our village is a five-day walk from where we are. I… assume that you can't have Changmin away for that long."

Yunho swallows. Yunho really, honestly isn't willing to take that chance.

He can't have Changmin that far for so long, without Yunho being there to watch him.

"I thought something like this might happen and I brought something for him. I wanted to give it to him in person, but…"

Kyuhyun digs through his bag and produces a pair of clothes – warm, padded material that isn't often seen in this region. He holds it out for Yunho, and Yunho takes it. "This is from his mother. And…"

Kyuhyun digs through the bag again.

"And this is a letter from his family. Please… if nothing else, please let him read it."

"Of course," says Yunho. He looks at Kyuhyun. "You're… You're leaving?"

"I'm going to do what I can to bring you enough so that we can take Changmin back," says Kyuhyun. "I need to return to the village as soon as possible and speak with his family, and the people, so that we can get him home as soon as possible."

Kyuhyun bows, then slings his bag over his shoulders again. He heads for the door. Yunho watches him leave, then Yunho stops him.

" _Wait._ "

Kyuhyun turns around. "Yes?"

"…Is your goal to bring him home, or to free him?"

Kyuhyun stares at Yunho. "You don't think it's the same thing?"

Yunho hesitates momentarily. "No. I don't think it's the same thing."

Kyuhyun looks right into Yunho's eyes. "You think, when he's freed, that he'd go anywhere besides home?"

Yunho doesn't have the right words to say.

After a bit of silence, Kyuhyun shakes his head in disbelief.

"You want to keep him," whispers Kyuhyun. "You – You think you can convince Changmin to stay with you even if he's been freed."

Yunho bites his lip.

"You wouldn't – were you – " Kyuhyun looks like he's struggling with anger. "Were you even going to free him if you had enough gold to do it? You – so what, you were going to get enough gold together, use what the village got together, and then keep him for yourself?"

"That's not what I meant."

"You do want to keep him, though," accuses Kyuhyun angrily. "You want to keep him for yourself, you've liked having a slave work for you, and –"

"…Stop."

A quiet but firm voice sounds from the doorway.

They both turn, and see that it was Changmin, holding the basket of clean laundry.

"Changmin," says Kyuhyun, looking shocked.

Changmin looks like he's in distress, frowning and looking like he's going to burst into tears. He drops the basket of laundry on the floor and shakes his head.

" _What's wrong with you?_ "

"I just want to get you out of here," pleads Kyuhyun desperately.

" _And this is what you thought of?_ Barging into my master's house and lecturing at him?"

" _Changmin,_ listen to me, I'm just trying to –"

"It wasn't enough for you to see me like this? You have to do this to me? After what you did?"

"Don't blame this on me, you're the one who asked me to do it, and now I'm just trying to get you back home!"

"You wouldn't have to do this right now if you stopped me back then!" shouts Changmin. " _You sold your best friend off to be a slave, and now you come back and pretend we're friends again? Cho Kyuhyun, it's not going to happen!_ "

There is a silence as Kyuhyun freezes, and tears well up in Changmin's eyes.

"We just want you home again," whispers Kyuhyun after a while. "We… We were all so afraid that you were dead. But now that we know you're not, we're just trying to bring you home."

Changmin swallows and shakes his head.

"I know," whispers Changmin. "But I'm…" Changmin looks down, and Yunho sees that he is looking at the brand that was burned into the inside of his wrist. "I'm already stuck. It's too late."

"Changmin…"

"It's not because I'm okay with sacrificing myself anymore," pleads Changmin. "I want to be selfish. I _want_ to be free, I –"

Changmin sees Yunho out of the corner of his eye, and sees Yunho frowning – and he stops.

"Anyway. Now is not the right time."

"When is the right time, then? Changmin –"

"Kyuhyun," hisses Changmin, and he grabs Kyuhyun by the arm and pulls him to the door. "You have to go."

"Changmin –"

Changmin pushes Kyuhyun out of the house, and he steps out too and closes the door behind him. Yunho watches them talk right there at the doorstep for a while. Their talk isn't long, but it is apparently meaningful, because they share a long hug at the end of it. Then Kyuhyun kisses Changmin's forehead, and he turns and leaves reluctantly as Changmin just stands there, watching him leave.

Changmin stays like that for a little bit, then takes a deep breath and lets out a deep sigh so unbecoming of his young face before stepping back into Yunho's house.

And Yunho knows in that moment, whatever happens, _he's never going to let Changmin go back to Jaejoong. Ever._

"I'm really sorry," Changmin says as he steps inside.

Yunho doesn't want to say anything to forgive him, because then that means that Changmin had anything to be sorry about in the first place. Instead, he clears his throat.

"That load of laundry better be the cleanest I've ever seen."

"Sorry," whispers Changmin with his head down.

Yunho nods.

"It's fine. Go eat what's on the table, then see me in the back room."

Changmin nods and walks into the kitchen as Yunho goes into the back room.

It's dark there, so Yunho lights a lamp. The room splashes with a warm glow of orange, and Yunho looks around.

And as if he is under a spell, Yunho sits down on the floor begins to busily arrange his small pots of herbs. He picks twenty of them – twenty that he thinks are the most important. He then lays them out all in a row. He then shuffles through his things to see if he can find a blank scroll, and he does. He lays it out and prepares ink and a pen, too.

Soon, Changmin steps into the room. He sees how the pots have been laid out, and momentarily stops.

"Sit," invites Yunho, indicating the space in front of him.

Changmin shuffles over and kneels across from Yunho and the herbs. Yunho wants to tell him to sit comfortably, but saves his breath, because he knows Changmin wouldn't dare sit cross-legged in front of Yunho. Instead, Yunho reaches for the first pot of dried herb and opens the lid.

"This herb is called Erlon. Have you heard of it?"

Changmin looks at Yunho for a split second, then back down to the floor. "No, master."

"Here. Take a look. You should smell it, too."

Changmin hesitates, but takes the pot with both of his hands and observes. And then he brings it to his nose and breathes in. He winces at the smell.

Yunho chuckles. "Strong, isn't it?"

Changmin sniffs again with the pot a bit further away this time.

"Yes, master. But I think I've smelled it before."

Yunho nods, impressed. "You have. It is what I used for the cut on your back before, and it is an herb that is probably the most commonly used. It's a simple medicinal herb that doesn't need to be used with anything else to have its effect. We boil it, make it into a paste and put it on a wound. And it will help heal. However, we take care to pick it while the leaves are very young and red – before they even turn green. This way, the effect is much greater."

Changmin nods.

"Can you remember that? What it's called, what it looks like, what it smells like, and how to use it?"

Changmin looks at Yunho as though he doesn't understand why Yunho would teach him such a thing, but then nods again.

"Yes, master."

"Very good," praises Yunho with a smile. "You might want to take notes, though, in case you forget. I'm going to test you tomorrow night," says Yunho, pointing at the notebook and the pen.

Changmin looks at Yunho curiously again, but then hesitantly picks up the pen and dips the end of it into the ink bottle. Yunho gives Changmin the time to write.

When he finishes, Yunho reaches for the second pot.

"Now. This one."


	11. Chapter 11

Yunho tries his best, but he can't always save everyone.

He can't save old people who are dying. He can't save people who are too severely hurt. He even sometimes can't save young children who are very sick. He couldn't even save his own sick father when he fell ill.

When he first failed to save someone was only five weeks into his training. A man who had severe burns died right there in the clinic, in his care – his 13-year-old self was so devastated that he couldn't stop crying. He was still crying as he continued to see his next patients, and his father had yelled at him to keep it together.

He was crying at the dinner table, and throughout the evening, and even as he settled into bed for the night. His father, who had been silent throughout the whole night, had finally sat Yunho up, and had given him a rare, comforting hug. He chuckled a bit and told Yunho, "It isn't always possible to save everyone, Yunho. You have a very pretty heart, and you will always try your best to save people. You are going to be an excellent healer – but you aren't a god."

His father had been right, because a decade later, Yunho still does do everything he can to save everyone. But the difference is that since then, Yunho has resigned himself to the fact that he can't save everyone.

Changmin, who is in front of him right now, organizing the medicinal herbs, is a bit different.

Yunho can save Changmin, but at the same time, he can't.

He can save Changmin, but only at the price of his own life and freedom.

Yunho doesn't know what to do.

"Master?" says Changmin's voice.

Yunho pulls himself back to his surroundings.

"Y-Yes," manages Yunho.

Yunho is sitting in the back room with Changmin, and they have laid out thirty of the herbs that Yunho had tasked Changmin to memorizing the night before. Changmin is knelt in front of him, and he is ready to start the studies for the night.

Before they begin learning anything new, Yunho always tests him on everything that Changmin has learned before.

Yunho pulls back a sigh and reaches for one of the small pots.

"Tell me about this one," says Yunho, and he opens the lid.

Changmin doesn't even need a better view.

"Ranisynth," replies Changmin confidently. "Found near swamps. Lethal on its own, but acts as an antidote for most types of poisonous mushrooms. Most potent when dried and powdered, then brewed as tea – but if there is no time, any form is fine."

"Very good," says Yunho with a nod.

The testing goes well, every night. Changmin mixes up an herb perhaps once a week, and each time he does, he looks so upset and disappointed at himself that Yunho doesn't even scold him for it. He is happy with Changmin's progress – in fact, he's very impressed. Changmin works hard, staying up several hours after Yunho has finished teaching to study. Yunho doesn't give Changmin any more time during the day to study, because he wants Changmin to watch and learn everything that Yunho is doing. So Yunho compensates by doing all of the housework on his own without Changmin's help.

And tonight, Yunho spends hours upon hours teaching him about forty herbs and twenty diseases of the lungs – because he knows that Changmin can handle it. It is already bedtime by the time Yunho finishes teaching. They have been finishing later and later each night, because he has been giving Changmin more and more each day to learn.

But tonight is the first night that Changmin looks overwhelmed.

"You don't think you can do it?" asks Yunho, raising his eyebrows.

Changmin hesitates, but he nods. "I can do it, Master."

Yunho nods and retires to the bedroom while Changmin turns back to his notes, studying.

Yunho falls asleep without Changmin and sleeps several hours before waking. Judging by the orange candlelight seeping in through the cracks between the door and the doorframe, Changmin is still studying still hasn't made it to the bedroom.

Yunho gets up and shuffles to the door, stifling a yawn. He opens the door to see that Changmin is still sitting on the floor by the candlelight, muttering to himself as he studies. He doesn't even notice Yunho.

"How much do you have left to study?" asks Yunho.

Changmin looks almost frantic, shuffling through the notes. "I'm not – sure –"

Yunho chuckles. "It's okay if you can't finish memorizing everything before bed. I know I have been giving you a lot."

Changmin shakes his head. "I can do it," he says stubbornly.

"Listen to me, Changmin. Rest is important too. You won't be able to learn anything if you haven't had any sleep."

Only then does Changmin get up – but not before a final scan of his notes.

Yunho returns to bed, and soon, Changmin finally walks into the bedroom with the candle in his hand. He puts out the candle and takes the place beside Yunho on the bed now, even without being instructed.

In the short time that Yunho has had Changmin, Changmin has gained weight, and looks much healthier. His cuts and bruises are healing nicely, and he looks much more like the young boy he is.

Yunho pats the boy on the head. "I don't expect you to remember everything the first time you learn it. Don't be so hard on yourself, and get some sleep."

Changmin nods, and snuggles up closer to Yunho so that their arms are touching.

A few minutes later, though, Changmin speaks.

"Master," says Changmin quietly. "I have a question."

Yunho turns his head towards him. "What is it?"

"You… are investing a lot of your time in teaching me."

Yunho nods. "I am."

"Why?" asks Changmin. "I mean – I can help you in other ways. I can cook and clean and do your laundry. Why are you teaching me to heal, when I am only going to be with you for another month?"

Yunho hesitates for a second on what he should say, but then he decides that being blunt and honest is the best way.

"Because I need – I mean, the village needs someone to run this clinic after I'm gone."

Changmin looks very confused. "For – someone to –"

"You are very smart and hardworking. You may even have been given the gift of healing by the gods," says Yunho. He smiles and pats the boy on the head. "Even so, two months isn't nearly enough time for anyone to learn the entire art of medicine and healing. I will have to ask one of the other healers in the village to help teach you for a few years before you can run this clinic on your own."

"Why would I ever run this clinic on my own?" whispered Changmin.

"Because I'm going to go to Jaejoong's in your place, as his slave."

 Yunho could see the absolute horror on Changmin's face, even in the faintest moonlight.

 


End file.
